Improving HDR Visuals in Hitman 3 on PC: A Guide to Enhancing Your Gaming Experience

  1. Download Special K from the official Discord or GitHub (look for the SpecialK64.dll).
  2. Installation: Place SpecialK64.dll in the folder where Hitman3.exe is located (usually Steam\steamapps\common\Hitman 3\). Rename the DLL to dxgi.dll or d3d11.dll.
  3. Configure: Launch the game. You will hear a beep and see a Special K overlay. Press Ctrl + Shift + Backspace to open the control panel.
  4. Navigate to HDR tab on the left.
  5. Enable "HDR Retrofit" (sometimes called "HDR10 Passthrough").
  6. Crucial Setting: Under "Color Gamut," select "ScRGB (Linear, 16-bit floating point)" instead of "HDR10."

    Some users find that HDR only "clicks" into the correct color space in one specific mode depending on their GPU. The "NVIDIA App" Alternative

    Quick checklist for “HDR looks good”:

    1. Enable HDR in Windows:

    1. International Telecommunication Union. (2016). Recommendation ITU-R BT.2100: Image parameter values for high dynamic range television for use in production and international programme exchange.
    2. Kaldaien. (2021–2026). Special K – HDR Fix for Hitman 3. GitHub repository.
    3. PC Gaming Wiki. (2021). Hitman 3 – HDR issues and fixes. [Online] Available at: community.pcgamingwiki.com
    4. Reddit r/Hitman. (2021–2023). “HDR washed out fix – Special K works.” [Online] Available at: reddit.com/r/HiTMAN
    5. NVIDIA Corporation. (2020). HDR and NVIDIA GPUs: Best Practices for Developers.
    6. Microsoft Docs. (2022). High Dynamic Range (HDR) in Windows 11. DirectX Developer Blog.